East and West
by Maple Pup
Summary: *Our lips move in sync. I nip her lip and pull her closer to me. She has her legs wrapped around my waist and my hands are cupping her face. This feels so right . . . Wait! I'm kissing Tori Vega, the girl I hate, underwater!* Jade and Tori are on Team West and Team East and have hated each other since the age of four. But what happens when they start middle school and try dating?
1. Prolouge Jade

East and West. West and East. Opposites. Rivals. Captains, shooters, defense, jumper, dog.

Okay, you probably don't get the last parts. I'm not talking about the directions (although it pure coincidence that the two teams are East and West). I mean, Team West and Team East, the two teams made up of twelve-year-old kids.

Here are the rules: All of the kids have to be the same age, every team has to have a golden retriever as the dog, everyone has to wear swim suit that are their team's color, it has to be in Lake Dark and well . . . it's very important. So important that I started training when I was four.

Team West is made up of four twelve-year-olds. We have a small specially crafted black boat. It's like a canoe, but has a flat back, is wider than a canoe and has a ladder so the jumper can climb back in. The captain of the boat is Beck Oliver, the hot guy with fluffy hair and great acting skills. The shooter is Andre Harris, talented and dedicated musician and songwriter. The defense is Cat Valentine, the ditzy redhead with a passion for singing. And I, Jade West, am the jumper. I love acting and singing, and hate, especially Tori Vega (you'll learn about _her_ later) with a growing passion. Hell, I've hated her since I was old enough to talk.

Another member is the dog. Our dog is Maple "Alpha" West. My dog, obviously. Although we usually call her Maple or Alpha, we all call her Ster, short for her "full" name (my father insisted on putting it on the papers) Mapster. She's playful and spunky. She has gorgeous, long (but sleek) golden fur.

The Team West color is black. I insisted. Our boat is black and we all have black swim suits. Even Maple wears a black color made of a special fabric.

Now . . . Team East. They have a boat like ours, but it's rounded on both ends. They have no ladder. The team is made up of four twelve-year-olds. Robbie Shapiro, captain. Surprisingly, he's a very good captain. He has a stupid puppet that sits on the seat next to him. Danny East is the shooter. Trina Vega is the defense. And (ugh) Tori Vega is the jumper.

The dog is Breezy. She's a small golden retriever, but is afraid to get her head wet, but she is very obedient.

Team East's color is purple. A deep purple that stands out. While "The West" (our boat) slices through the dark water almost invisible, you can see "The East" coming from miles ahead. Stupid people.

Now the boring part. A captain steers and is in charge. A shooter shoots water, water balloons, ect at the other team's boat. A defense defends the boat and on Team West, Cat (defender) puts out the ladder and pulls it up for me (jumper). A jumper has the hardest jobs. They jump out of the boat and swim to the other boat to distract and try to win the war. The dog will swim with the jumper sometimes and will do odd jobs like chewing through rope, breaking water balloons, fetching supplies that went overboard, ect.

"Jade, wake up. We have a war in two hours," Cat shakes me awake.

Grumbling, I pull myself out of bed. Cat hands me my sleek black one-piece suit. She's already wearing hers, but the back says "Cat Valentine, Defender" while mine says "Jade West, Jumper" instead.

Maple wanders in. I pet her sleek, soft fur. "You ready for a war, Ster?" I ask and she barks in response, wagging her tail.

I eat a light breakfast. A breakfast burrito and a cup of coffee. A jumper can't eat too little or too much. I've perfected the balance of eating.

The weather is perfect. It's muggy out and is already 80 degrees out and it's only eight. Wars start at nine, but we like to be there by eight thirty.

At eight thirty on the dot, we're ready. Ster is so excited; she's jumping up and down. Finally, Team East shows up at five minutes to nine.

Nine on the dot. A voice blares over the loud speakers.

"Time for a surprise war! Team West vs. Team East. Now presenting . . . Team West! Mr. John West, in charge of all those fierce little Westers, all dressed in black! The mike is yours, John."

"Thank you." My father's voice is strong and businesslike. "All you Westers in the crowd, thanks for coming."

People (lots have a black shirt that spells out "Westers" in the same fancy font as the one on the back of my swim suit) stand up and cheer.

"I'm going to make this short, so I'll get on with the names." People laugh. They love my father, who always knows what to say. "Captain, Beckett "Beck" Oliver!"

Beck steps out and tips his captain hat. The crowd roars and he steps back into place.

"Shooter, Andre Harris!"

Andre steps toward the crowd and pulls out a gun. He shoots little black pins that say "Westers" on them into the crowd. People cheer. They love him and us Little Westers.

"Our redheaded defender, Caterina "Cat" Valentine!"

Cat jumped out and does a front-flip, then a no-handed cartwheel and yells, "Westers!"

The crowd yells back, "Westers, forever!"

"And last, but definitely not least, our jumper, and my daughter, Jadelyn "Jade" West and her dog, Mapster!"

I run out with Maple on my heels. I quickly scale a tree and throw rope, guns and assorted goodies down to Maple, who throws them into the crowd.

Like my father has predicted, people love us Little Westers. The crowd claps, cheers and whistles for us.

Me and my dog step back. Now for Team East's turn.

Daniel East's arrogant voice blares. "Hey, East fans! We're about ten minutes away from the best war ever! So on to the team! Captain, Robert "Robbie" Shapiro and his . . . puppet, Rex!"

Robbie walks out and yells, "He doesn't like to be called a puppet!"

_That kid is so fucked up_. I think.

Then Robbie makes a sloppy "E" with his body. People cheer.

"Shooter, my son, Daniel "Danny" East Jr.!" Danny struts out and makes an "A" with his body and stands next to Robbie. More clapping.

"Defender, Trina Vega!" It's pretty funny to watch Trina prance out and twist her body awkwardly into something like an "S".

"And our beautiful, talented jumper, Victoria "Tori" Vega and her dog Breezy!"

Tori runs out and stands up straight, with her arms out. The lazy dog sits next to her.

There's a lot of cheering for Team East, but most of them are cheering for Tori, I know.

It's over. Finally, time for war. Time to kick Team East's asses.

We stand side by side, waiting for the buzzer to go off.

Ten, nine, eight, seven . . . three, two, one . . .

The buzzer goes and we take off running for the boats.

We all jump in and Cat quickly unties the knot. We're off . . . at the same time as Team East! Maple growls at Breezy and I have to hold her collar to keep her from lunging.

"I know, Alpha. You'll set that Rat Dog straight later."

Beck and Andre are pedaling and Cat is rowing. We arrive at Supply Island four and a half seconds before Team East.

Everyone but Beck jumps off. We run for the middle of the island.

Tori and I are in the lead. Cat is close behind and Andre, Trina and Robbie aren't as fast. My speed, plus Cat's, is an advantage. Maple and Breezy race. Maple's faster because of her sleek fur vs. Breezy's fluffy coat.

Maple is trained to grab two buckets, and put ten packages of water bullets and seven packs of water balloons in it, then race back to Andre.

Ten feet from the supplies, Cat yells, "Go!"

I throw myself at Tori, catching her legs and yanking them out from under her. Tori's a faster swimmer for short distances (which is better than being good at long distances, like me), but I'm faster on land and am stronger and bigger than she is.

We roll around on the ground while Cat stuffs two water pistols, a water gun (for the water bullets) and a water balloon catapult, 100 feet of rope, plus ten bottles of water into our packs. Maple runs back and she attaches the bags to Maple's back.

My dog streaks toward the boat and I smile. That gives Tori is easy chance to peg my nose, but I block to blow with my arm. Ouch.

Trina and Robbie grab remaining supplies, but Cat grabs the only boogie board and 500 feet of rope.

I have Tori pinned down now and I have my hand on her throat. "Remember who's stronger," I mutter and she nods frantically.

"Jade!" Cat calls and tosses me the boogie board. I jump up, kick Tori's arm, but not very hard, and run with her.

We reach the boat and pedal to the middle of the lake, where we get everything ready. I put my black goggles and flippers on. Ready. I see "The East" and position myself. But Beck holds me back. "Not yet."

"The East" pulls out in front of us. Tori jumps out as we begin firing. Beck pushes me. "Go and bring Ster!"

I whistle and Ster jumps into the water in sync with me. We hit the water and I go under, Ster goes after Breezy for revenge.

Underwater, everything's peaceful. The dark, cold water encloses me and I smile. I see purple flippers and pull down – hard.

Tori goes under, I surface and take three deep breathes, then dive back under.

We're punching, kicking, but it doesn't work in the water. My arm shoots out and I feel an odd desire to pull my enemy in, so I do.

Too hard. Our faces make contact and I'm suddenly kissing the girl I hate. We finally run out of breath and surface, and then kiss again.

Our lips move in sync. I nip her lip and pull her closer to me. She has her legs wrapped around my waist and my hands are cupping her face. This feels so right . . . Wait! I'm kissing Tori Vega, the girl I hate, underwater when we should be fighting!

But I don't move and just kiss her more passionately.

Team East's boat is sinking! Yes! Cat cut a hole in the bottom of it while I was . . . uh . . . making out with Tori. Everything is going right today.

But even underwater, I hear a chilling whack as the boat smacks Tori's head. She starts to sink and suck in water.

I act fast and grab her by the bikini. The top unravels and I curse, swimming to land quickly. Tori coughs up water. We hit Supply Island's beach and I carry her into the clearing.

When she finally comes to, I'm holding her hand.

"What happened?" she asks.

"We . . ." I don't want to be rude by telling her we won, but I have to. "Cat sunk your boat and it hit you in the head. I carried you to the island."

She smiles at me and our lips touch. It's a short, but sweet kiss.

"Come on, I have to go back to my team." I tell her.

"Aww," she kisses me again and I eagerly move my lips against hers, but soon pull away.

"Baby, I have to get back and you have to lie on the beach and pretend to be unconscious." I say.

Her face falls, so I give her a kiss. Five second later, I pull away.

"Why are you crying?" I ask gently.

"Because I betrayed my team!" she sobs. "And I have to leave you!"

"I'll see you around, Tor," I turn so she can't see the tears in my eyes.

She grabs onto my legs. "Don't leave me, Jade!"

My tears are falling freely. "I have to," I whisper. "Forget about me. I was never here."

"Jadey!" she wails.

I take a deep breath. "I really like you, Tori. But I have to go." I pick her up and sling her over my shoulder and carry her to the beach. I lay her down and sing her to sleep.

"_I can usually drink you right off of my mind  
But I miss you tonight  
I can normally push you right out of my heart  
But I'm too tired to fight_

Yeah the whole thing begins  
And I let you sink into my veins  
And I feel the pain like it's new  
Everything that we were,  
Everything that you said,  
Everything that I did and that I couldn't do  
Plays through tonight

Tonight your memory burns like a fire  
With every one it grows higher and higher  
And I can't get over it, I just can't put out this love  
I just sit in these flames and pray that you'll come back  
Close my eyes tightly, hold on and hope that I'm dreaming  
Come wake me up

Turn the TV up loud just to drown out your voice, but I can't forget  
Now I'm all out of ideas and baby I'm down to my last cigarette  
Yeah, you're probably asleep deep inside of your dreams while I'm sitting here crying and trying to see  
Yeah, wherever you are baby now I am sure you moved on and aren't thinking twice about me  
And you tonight

Tonight your memory burns like a fire  
With every one it grows higher and higher  
I can't get over it, I just can't put out this love  
I just sit in these flames and pray that you'll come back  
Close my eyes tightly, hold on and hope that I'm dreaming

I know that you're movin' on  
I know I should give you up  
But I keep hopin' that you'll trip and fall back in love  
Time's not healin' anything  
Baby, this pain is worse than it ever was  
I know that you can't hear me, but baby I need you to save me tonight

Tonight your memory burns like a fire  
With every one it grows higher and higher  
I can't get over it, I just can't put out this love  
I just sit in these flames and pray that you'll come back  
Close my eyes tightly, hold on and hope that I'm dreaming  
Come wake me up  
Oh, I'm dreaming  
Come wake me up  
Oh, I'm dreaming."

By the time I finish, she's asleep. "I'll be back, Tor," I promise. "I won't leave you like this." I kiss her forehead and then jump into the lake, swimming back to the Westers, where I belong.

My heart screams for Tori. But isn't this what's right? Or isn't it?


	2. New School New Challenge Trouble

Today's my first day of school. My first day of middle school. Danny's locker is near mine and Trina's is three down.

My homeroom is Room 231. Everything is alphabetized. I'm next to a West. I pull my hood up over my head. Is the West Jade? My Jade?

I mumble during homeroom so if it is Tori, she won't recognize me. When the bell rings, I bolt for my locker.

Class goes well until lunch. I'm afraid Jade will see me, so I hide in the library and scarf down my lunch as fast as I can. Then I look around. There's nobody, so I decide to sing.

_Come Wake Me Up_ by Rascal Flatts comes to mind. I smile. I'll sing to Jade.

"_I can usually drink you right off of my mind  
But I miss you tonight  
I can normally push you right out of my heart  
But I'm too tired to fight_

Yeah the whole thing begins  
And I let you sink into my veins  
And I feel the pain like it's new  
Everything that we were,  
Everything that you said,  
Everything that I did and that I couldn't do  
Plays through tonight

Tonight your memory burns like a fire  
With every one it grows higher and higher  
And I can't get over it, I just can't put out this love  
I just sit in these flames and pray that you'll come back  
Close my eyes tightly, hold on and hope that I'm dreaming  
Come wake me up

Turn the TV up loud just to drown out your voice, but I can't forget  
Now I'm all out of ideas and baby I'm down to my last cigarette  
Yeah, you're probably asleep deep inside of your dreams while I'm sitting here crying and trying to see  
Yeah, wherever you are baby now I am sure you moved on and aren't thinking twice about me  
And you tonight

Tonight your memory burns like a fire  
With every one it grows higher and higher  
I can't get over it, I just can't put out this love  
I just sit in these flames and pray that you'll come back  
Close my eyes tightly, hold on and hope that I'm dreaming

I know that you're movin' on  
I know I should give you up  
But I keep hopin' that you'll trip and fall back in love  
Time's not healin' anything  
Baby, this pain is worse than it ever was  
I know that you can't hear me, but baby I need you to save me tonight

Tonight your memory burns like a fire  
With every one it grows higher and higher  
I can't get over it, I just can't put out this love  
I just sit in these flames and pray that you'll come back  
Close my eyes tightly, hold on and hope that I'm dreaming  
Come wake me up  
Oh, I'm dreaming  
Come wake me up  
Oh, I'm dreaming."

When I finish, tears are streaming down my face. "God, Jade, I'm so sorry," I whimper and curl up into a ball, rocking myself back and forth.

Then I feel a gentle hand on my back, rubbing soothing circles. I don't dare look up as more tears drip down my cheeks and leave lines on my face.

I know my makeup's smudged and I'm embarrassed. I don't want anyone to see me like this. I'm shaking. Then I feel an arm around my shoulder, pulling me in close.

Soft hands, with a touch like a butterfly, stroke my long brown hair. I just let loose at this point and my body shakes and quivers with every breath I take.

A harsh voice. "What are you two doing in the library?"

I lift my head to see a girl with shoulder length dark blonde hair talking to the librarian.

"She's just a seventh grader. Cut her a little slack, Ms. Dequette. She doesn't know the rules and she's really shy and scared."

The stern librarian looks at the girl. "Okay, but I need to know her name and guidance counselor and I'll let you two off the hook."

The girl nudges me. My voice is still shaky. "Victoria Vega," I mumble. "Mr. Shay is my guidance counselor."

"Speak up." the librarian orders.

"Her name's Victoria Vega and Mr. Shay is her guidance counselor." I give the girl a weak smile.

"Okay, now go!" The librarian obviously wants to get rid of us.

The girl extends a hand and I let her help me up gratefully.

As soon as we're out of the library, the girl asks, "What's wrong?"

"That's the problem!" I burst into tears.

She sighs. "Friend or boy trouble?"

"Girl trouble," I admit, calming down.

"Who is she?"

"Jade West and she saved my life."

"What?"

"You've heard of Team West and Team East, right? Well, I'm on Team East and Jade's on Team West. In the middle of a war, she kissed me. The worst part is I kissed her back."

"That sounds pretty intense."

"Yeah. Then Team West sunk our ship and it hit me in the head. Jade supposedly swam down and hauled me to shore. Then she told me she really liked me, but we couldn't be together. She brought me to the beach and sang me to sleep. Actually, that song I was singing was the one she sang to me."

The girl sucks in a breath. "Have you seen her since?"

"No, but she was in my homeroom and I pulled my hood up so she wouldn't see who I really was."

"I think you should talk to your guidance counselor about this. Mr. Shay really understands. He could help you."

"But I'm scared and uncomfortable." I look at my hands.

"I'll come with you if it's okay," the girl smiles reassuringly at me. "Let's go talk to Mr. Shay now. We still have fifteen minutes till next period."

"What's your name?" I ask the girl.

"Grace Blue." she answers. "And I know you're Victoria Vega."

"Tori Vega," I correct her.

"Tori." she smiles again. "Now let's go talk to Mr. Shay,"

I'm very scared, but Grace squeezes my hand, offering quiet comfort.

A man with gray hair opens the door. "Hi Grace," he says and then turns to me. "What's your name?"

"Victoria Vega," I whisper.

"Well, Victoria, what brings you and Grace here?" he asks.

I look at Grace. She nods and tells Mr. Shay everything. He doesn't interrupt, but he's glancing at me the whole time.

"And here we are," Grace finishes.

"Well, Victoria, I'd like to see you twice a week, both times during your gym class. You can take a test to make sure you're in good shape. And if Grace doesn't mind, she can come with you."

I nod and he continues. "I'll call your gym teacher and Mrs. Anderson so she knows you won't be at lunch Tuesdays and Thursdays."

The bell rings. "Can I grab my lunch?" Grace asks.

"Sure," Mr. Shay says. "That'll give Victoria and I a little time to get to know each other more."

As soon as Grace leaves the room, Mr. Shay smiles. "So, Victoria,"

"Tori," I correct.

"Tori, I have a few questions I want you to answer honestly. Have you ever considered that you might be a lesbian or bisexual?"

I take a deep breath. "No, not really. I mean, I'll keep an open mind, but Jade's the only girl I really . . ."

Thinking back, I remember how I really wanted to hang out with Cat when I was around nine, but then she found out I was on Team East. I was crushed.

"There might have been one or two more." I say stiffly. "But I like guys, too."

"I don't want to jump to any conclusions," Mr. Shay says. "But to me, it sounds like you're bisexual. I don't know enough about you to confirm that, but that's what it sounds like to me."

I want to cry. There's no way I can be bisexual. I'm straight!

Grace comes in then and I rush out of the room and stand by my locker, just letting the tears come and take over.

Not five minutes later, Grace and Mr. Shay find slumped up against my locker with my face in my hands.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Grace asks me.

I nod.

"Why are you so upset?" she asks gently.

"Because," I sniff. "Mr. Shay thinks I'm bisexual."

She puts an arm around my shoulder. "There's nothing to be ashamed of. It's not like being bi is going to ruin your life."

"It will socially." I point out.

"Oh come on," Grace says. "Lady Gaga is bi. Did that stop her?"

I shake my head.

"Then it won't stop you." Grace tells me.

Then I see a streak of black and Jade appears.

She hugs me so hard I think she's going to break every bone in my body.

"Baby, I've missed you so much."

She catches me in a long hard kiss. "Miss me?" she smirks.

All I can do is nod. She laughs.

"Same school, huh?" she whispers. "I can't believe I finally found you." She kisses me again, our lips moving against each other's. She nips my lip, begging for entrance and then when I finally give her what she wants, she slips her tongue inside my mouth and we begin a battle for dominance.

Of course she wins and presses me up against the lockers. Her hand slips up my shirt and I sigh against her lips. Then I hear someone, actually, two people, clearing their throats.

Jade and I are both panting and blushing when we pull away and she puts her hands in her pockets.

Grace is amused. "So this is how I get to meet Jade." she asks me.

"Yes." I tell her. "Jade this is my friend, Grace, who really helped me out today. Grace this is Jade, my . . . uh . . ."

"Girlfriend." Jade finishes.

"So now we're dating?" I ask her.

"Yes," she smiles. "If you want."

I nod again and she smiles, and then kisses me again. I push her away and she huffs. "Baby, why'd you do that?"

"Because I need to talk to Grace and Mr. Shay," I tell her.

She glares, but it's a nice glare, not the I'm-going-to-kill-you glare. "Fine,"

"Mr. Shay? Am I going to still see you?" I ask.

"Yes." he says. "On Tuesday and Thursday with Grace. And on Friday and Monday, you and Jade are going to see me. You'll get out halfway through your class and then I'll see you. Oh, bring your lunches."

"Okay," I say.

"See you tomorrow, Tori and Jade." he calls.

I hug Grace. "Thanks for everything, Grace."

She laughs. "That's the polite way of saying, 'Go away, Grace, because me and Jade are going to make out now.'"

Jade grins. "I could have just said that,"

Grace smiles back. "See you around."

Jade grins at me. "Time to finish what we started." She kisses me aggressively and my knees almost instantly go weak. I kiss her back and I can feel her startled expression. I grin against her lips.

"You little devil," Jade smirks and slides her cool hand up my shirt. Her finds trace patterns on my belly and then she breaks the kiss to blow behind my ear.

"Dang, Jade." I thought she was finished teasing, but instead, she licked my left ear and then nips it gently.

Soon enough, I know she's waiting for me to do something (although I could let her do this all day). I trail kisses down her neck, and then bite her, but not very hard.

"You forgot about revenge," Jade's voice is silky in my ear and her finger are lighting running down my back, sending shivers up my spine.

With her trademark smirk plastered across her face, Jade sucks on my pulse point and smirks again. Then she bites down – hard.

"Vampire," I mutter. That's going to leave a nice mark.

"Glad I could help." She kisses me once more before the bell rings.

_This has got to be the weirdest day ever_. Then, right before kids come out of their classrooms, Jade leaves a lingering kiss on my lips that leaves me distracted all day.


End file.
